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What does an RPG sound like? This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we take a look at some bands that seem to draw inspiration from tabletop roleplaying games. On tap: Hällas , Slough Feg , Shadowland , Castillo , Lost Legion and Castle Rat . * * * Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter ! That's where all the cool kids are now! Stu's book, Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground is for sale now! Buy it ! Patreon? Discord? Cool RPG things to buy? All the Vintage RPG links you need ...
Catchin' up on some TV and movies. This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we chat about the use of Dungeons & Dragons in Stranger Things , the continuing appeal of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films and discovering the original TV movie version of Woman in Black . * * * Read Stu's essay on the Woman in Black films ! Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter ! That's where all the cool kids are now! Stu's book, Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground is for sale now! Buy it !...
Can you defeat the tower before the tower defeats you? This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we check out Milton Bradley's legendary Dark Tower board game from 1981. One of the most powerful examples of fantasy's moment in the mainstream limelight, the electronic game is actually pretty fun to play, too! * * * Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter ! That's where all the cool kids are now! Stu's book, Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground is for sale now! Buy it ! Patreon? Disc...
Santa did what ?! This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we reveal the secret origin of Santa Claus, as told by Seabury Quinn in the novella Roads (1948). Saying more than that would spoil the fun. Ho, ho, ho? That's it for this year. We hope you have a most excellent holiday season! We'll be back January 12. * * * Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter ! That's where all the cool kids are now! Stu's book, Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground is for sale now! Buy it ! Patreon? ...
Just what is a monster? This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we're talkin' monsters. The best thing to talk about! Specifically, we're talking about the changing definition of monsters over the last several centuries. Laying the groundwork for future episodes about monsters? Maaaaaybe! * * * Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter ! That's where all the cool kids are now! Stu's book, Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground is for sale now! Buy it ! Patreon? Discord? Cool RPG thin...
So nice, we recorded it twice (because we lost the first recording). This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we talk to Tiger Wizard and Joey Royale about their entry for Mausritter Month. What happens at the circus while the humans are asleep? Find out in Tails from the Nightmarket ! * * * Tails from the Night Market is live on Backerkit now, as part of the larger Mausritter Month . Lots of cool projects to check out. You can check out these links for more on Mausritter or The Estate box sets. In...
It's another one of them there pot-pour-ee episodes. This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, the main game-related topic is the HPL Historical Society's new Call of Cthulhu scenario The Spark Devil . Other topics include how angry Stu is about the horror film Loop Track , excitment for Predator: Badlands and more! * * * Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter ! That's where all the cool kids are now! Stu's book, Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground is for sale now! Buy it ! Patre...
Hambone and Stu dive into the legacy of Gary Larson's iconic comic strip, The Far Side, reflecting on its polarizing "fourth thought" humor and its unexpected ties to 1980s pop culture and RPG aesthetics. They discuss the historical world of syndicated comic sales, the system's respect for creators like Bill Watterson, and the eventual decisions by Larson and Watterson to conclude their strips. The episode also features a "Crowdfunding Corner" segment, highlighting two creative Mausritter RPG projects.
It belongs in a museum! Oh, wait, that doesn't work here... This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we check out Thousand Year Old Campfire , also known as Old Morris Cave: A Continuous Use Campsite in Mammoth Cave National Park . A descendant of Thousand Year Old Vampire , this game examines presence, absence and time through the excavation of an archaeological site. It's less emotionally charged than TYOV , but no less thought provoking. * * * Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter...
Send in the clones! This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, Jessica Fletcher guest stars in a very special episode about Murder, She Wrote: A Board Game of Strategy and Pursuit . In fact, six Jessica Fletchers have shown up. Join us, as we dig into a surprisingly decent retro board game based on one of our favorite old shows (sad there's no Magnum board game, though, for real). * * * Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter ! That's where all the cool kids are now! Stu's book, Monsters...
Remember the twist ending of the Arthurian romances when Bruce Lee appears at Camlann to kick Mordred's ass? Me neither. This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we check out The Future King , a stand-alone adventure/system by Tom Moldvay. It spins somewhat out of his earlier bat-shit RPG Lords of Creation and sees the players trying to wake King Arthur from his slumber, because the hour of need is at hand. That isn't too crazy, but the pregens are. They include Bruce Lee, Cyrano and Nostradamus! *...
Brian Colin becomes an ink-stained wretch. This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, Vast Grimm creator Brian Colin is back. He's got a new crowdfunding campaign for Vast Grimm in zine form , but he's got something even more exciting that we wanted to talk to him about: a printing press! * * * Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter ! That's where all the cool kids are now! Stu's book, Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground is for sale now! Buy it ! Patreon? Discord? Cool RPG things ...
The end was nigh! This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we welcome the apocalypse(s) with The Stars are Right! (1992), an anthology of scenarios for Cthulhu Now (AKA Call of Cthulhu Modern). As these things go, its a solid set of cases, but the book has a surprising legacy of censorship and controversy over one of Blair Reynolds' fantastic illustrations. * * * Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter ! That's where all the cool kids are now! Stu's book, Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in...
Blurring the line between mythology and roleplaying games. This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we take a look at the first six (!) of ten (!!) volumes of Chaosium's Cults of RuneQuest series of sourcebooks. Taken together, they form an important foundation for bringing mythology to life in RuneQuest campaigns. Important stuff, since RQ is essentially a game about living mythology! * * * Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter ! That's where all the cool kids are now! Stu's book, M...
That is not dead which can eternal lie...wait, no, that's the wrong franchise. This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, Stu learns that there are more than four modules in D&D's S-series. After a brief recap of the originals, we chat about The Dancing Hut of Baba Yaga and Labyrinth of Madness , which revived the line for one brief and brutal moment in 1995. * * * Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter ! That's where all the cool kids are now! Stu's book, Monsters, Aliens, and Hole...
A videogame ? On the Vintage RPG Podcast? Yes! This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we talk Space Marine II , an excellent, pleasingly violent shooter and how it manages to be an entertaining experience despite being propaganda for the shriveled, impotent husk of the so-called Emperor of Mankind and the follies that the Adeptus Astartes commit in his name. Hail Tzeentch! * * * Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter ! That's where all the cool kids are now! Stu's book, Monsters, Al...
There's no time machine quite like an old catalog. This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we talk about Wargames West, a games mail order catalog from the late '80s and early '90s. Extremely hard to find, but a precious snapshot of the past. We also talk about collecting, and not collecting, and more! * * * Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter ! That's where all the cool kids are now! Stu's book, Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground is for sale now! Buy it ! Patreon? Discord?...
More plastic for the sculpture gallery. This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, Stu's playing with toys again! First, an amazing rarity, the Tara Toys Roll-A-Mat Dark Adventure play set (1983). Next we talk about MUSCLES and Monsters in My Pocket. Finally, there's Arrizak, a recent toy from Four Horsemen's Mythic Legion line who looks surprisingly like someone on this very show . (It's a coincidence, but a very funny one.) * * * Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter ! That's where a...
You bring a suitcase with your clothes, and an empty suitcase for all the crap you're gonna buy. This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, Stu sifts through the gigantic pile of stuff he bought at GenCon, including The Sutra of Pale Leaves for Call of Cthulhu, Age of Vikings , Bunny Borg , Kala Mandala and one zine that arrived while he was away, Tiger's Figure Folio . * * * Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter ! That's where all the cool kids are now! Stu's book, Monsters, Aliens, a...
Once again, Stu journeys to the biggest tabletop gaming convention in the US. This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, Stu reports back from GenCon 2025. How was the train? Did he survive his panel? Did he play any games? Did he make it back without having to take the bus? Listen to learn the answers to all these questions, and much more! * * * Listen to the Games People Play broadcast that was LIVE from GenCon (er, well, live from Stu's hotel near the Speedway, 15 minutes drive from GenCon). * * *...
Are you ready to turn into a extraterrestrial angel? This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, Stu is feeling nostalgic about Dark Suns past, so we take a look at Dragon Kings , the best-worst book in the line! Also, a fair amount of discussion about our late Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne (Correction: Sabotage came after Sabbath Bloody Sabbath ). * * * Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter ! That's where all the cool kids are now! Stu's book, Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Gro...
In which the horse, the rider, or both can be dangerously inebriated! This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we check out two cool things from the mailbox! First up, Nick Boreli's amazing minature kitbashing art book Mold Mold Mold which is hideously beautiful. Second is Tabletop Cowboy's very funny Drunk Jousting , an unusual skirmish game featuring rad miniatures by Jaycee Fairclough. Plus, listener questions answered! * * * You can buy Mold Mold Mold and Drunk Jousting , but only if you're coo...
An RPG inspired by the TV show Millennium ? SIGN ME UP! This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we check out the primer for Midnight of the Century , from By Odin's Beard! It's a lightweight game in the mode of Cairn, but tailored around investigating supernaturally tinged murders in the mode of Millennium , Seven , Twin Peaks and so on. The rain is always falling, people are always dying and the end of the world is just around the corner! * * * Check out the itch.io campaign for Midnight of the C...
What lies beneath the Mucklands? The Underlands, naturally! This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we welcome the creators of Land of Eem , Ben Costa and James Parks! Eem is a bit of a multimedia project, currently consisting of a series of graphic novels, young readers novels and a shockingly massive RPG. It mixes light and dark in perfect proportions for kids and adults alike. And recently nominated for a pile of Ennies, because it's that dang good. But wait, there's more: Turns out Ben and Jam...
The local library has fantasy books and air conditioning, what else do you need for a great summer? This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, Hambone's cracked into Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea novels and asked for more fantasy fiction recommendations. On tap: Fritz Leiber, Lloyd Alexander, Margaret St. Claire, Roger Zelazny and Manly Wade Wellman. Tolkien who? * * * Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter ! That's where all the cool kids are now! Stu's book, Monsters, Aliens, and Holes...
Longer than Odysseus' journey home. This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, Max Moon joins us to chat about the latest expansion for 12 Years , the nautical 12 Years at Sea, coming to Kickstarter this week! We talk about art, fantasy touchstones, solo play, Max's new studio and more! * * * Go get 12 Years at Sea on Kickstarter ! * * * Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter ! That's where all the cool kids are now! Stu's book, Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground is for sale now!...
Tune in to the static and await news from the Station Manager. This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we got our rewards from the Weird Heroes of Public Access RPG crowdfunding campaign and just had to talk about them. What a delightful pile of odd, creepy, spooky, quirky and lightly nostalgic stuff! Listen to us, then go on over to Exalted Funeral and get your own copy. * * * Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter ! That's where all the cool kids are now! Stu's book, Monsters, Alie...
Don't play gray! This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we check out some old catalogs from Grenadier Models. Funny thing, back when these catalogs first came out, they'd stop working after a while. But now, with the internet and the infinite store that is eBay, old catalogs work again. I can just flip through, find a rad minotaur I want and to the search engine I go, wallet in hand... * * * Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter ! That's where all the cool kids are now! Stu's book,...
Bringing occult detective work to the common man! This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we hang out with reporter Carl Kolchak, TV's most important monster hunter. Truly, you don't get stuff like The X-Files , Supernatural , Buffy and even maybe The Sopranos without Kolchak, not to mention a couple of Dungeons & Dragons monsters! * * * Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter ! That's where all the cool kids are now! Stu's book, Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground is for sa...
Don't get too attached to those characters... This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we're joined by Justin Wigard and Clay Fleischer, two of Stu's victims...er...players in the Patron-only West Marches game that has been running for two years now. They share anecdotes about the adventures they've had, and a bit of the trauma. You should sign up ! It's fun! * * * Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter ! That's where all the cool kids are now! Stu's book, Monsters, Aliens, and Holes ...
